Improvement in tops



UNITED STATES PATENT GEEIGEe JOHN SPENCER, OF CEIICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN TOPS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 149,354, dated April 7, 1874 application filed December 23, 1873.

` To all whom' it may concern:

Be it known that L JOHN SPENCER, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Spinning-Top; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a spinning-top embodying my said invention, and Fig. 2 is a vertical central section of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in both figures of the drawing.

rlhe present invention relates to an improvement on the Letters Patent No. 141,089, issued to me, and dated July 22, 1873.

It was found with my former invention that it needed much experience to spin the tops by means of the cord and handle commonly used, thereby rendering it more or less impractical for small children to use. j

To overcome this difficulty I provide a re cepta-cle, into which the outer or principal top is loosely placed 5 and to give the same the ascending movement requisite to disengage it from the receptacle, when spun, I provide its periphery with a spiral groove, into which the cord is wound, and, by the unwinding ot' the same, the principal top is made to revolve, and by its movement it is elevated from the receptacle, and the centrifugal motion disengages the cones one from the other and from the principal, each falling to the floor and rebr\volving on their respective centers.

In the drawing, A represents the body of the receptacle, which is made of hard wood, and in the form shown, the base being enlarged, to enable the same to retain an npright position when not in use. A is the cover, which is tted to the body A in such a manner as to admit of being readily removed when the tops are to be spun. The upper portion of the body is provided with a conical hollow, C, adapted to receive the principal top C', as shown in Fig. 2. The principal top C is made hollow, and adapted to receive a series of cones, a b c d, each (except the irst, marked a) provided with a conical cavity or hollow, adapted to receive the adjacent next smaller cone. vThe lower end of each of these cones are so shaped as to form a center, upon which the same revolves when spun. F is a spiral groove, which is formed in and around v thereto; the object being to remove a portion of its weight, thereby rendering the same capable of being revolved by the centrifugal motion of the adjacent cone.

In spinning my top, the cord Gr is wound around the periphery of the principal top C, and within groove F, allowing one end of the cord to extend to the lower extremity of the top. The cones being placed one within the other, and within the principal top, which is then placed within the receptacle, allowing one end of the cord to pass through mortise h, (cover A being removed,) a jerking movement is then imparted to the cord, which causes the principal top to revolve, giving to the cones a like motion, and as the cord is unwound the principal top is made to ascend, thereby disengaging the same from the receptacle, and by the centrifugal motion the cones are thrown one from the other and from the principal top, each falling to the door and revolving on its center.

Having described my invention, I claim- In combination with the principal top C, provided with the spiral groove F and nest of cones a b c cl, the receptacle A, provided with the conical hollow C, adapted to receive the principal top C, and provided with the mortise h to admit the cord, as specified.

JOHN SPENCER.

Titnesses N. H. SEERBURNE, JAMES COLEMAN. 

